Spring Begins Today

1. FADE IN

2. 
   

3. Act 1

4. 
   

5. INT. LIVING ROOM - 08:15

6. 
   

7. Sunlight slants through a window. PETER sits with intense focus. He's examining a text on a laptop. A swim bag, ready to go, sits next to him.

8. 
   

9. PETER (V.O.): Every time I review my draft, I discover something that can be refined.

10. 
    

11. Cross-referencing, Peter revises the draft.

12. 
    

13. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I'd set it aside for a while before reviewing it again.

14. 
    

15. The clock on his phone screen reads 9:45, then 10:10. Peter is engrossed.

16. 
    

17. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Done! I'll send the draft to the Secretariat.

18. 
    

19. Peter wants to attach the draft file to his email, but he can't find it.

20. 
    

21. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I'm new to WPS Cloud, as I've previously used OneDrive.

22. 
    

23. After several attempts, he manages to attach the file. He clicks "Send".

24. 
    

25. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Not sure if I can catch the 10:40 bus...

26. 
    

27. Act 2

28. 
    

29. EXT. BUS STOP - 10:40

30. 
    

31. Peter walks briskly. He sees the bus approaching. He's the last one to board.

32. 
    

33. PETER (V.O.): I'm lucky. My schedule holds.

34. 
    

35. INT. KOWLOON PARK SWIMMING POOL - 11:15

36. 
    

37. Peter, now in swim trunks and goggles, does his 500 meters: breastroke, freestyle, backstroke, butterfly.

38. 
    

39. PETER (V.O.): I swim every day, and I believe there's always room for me to improve my skills.

40. 
    

41. INT. KOWLOON STATION - 12:30

42. 
    

43. Modern. Busy.

44. 
    

45. PETER (V.O.): I'm starting my February travel soon, but I'm not coming here to take the high-speed train; I'm visiting Tim Ho Wan for lunch.

46. 
    

47. INT. TIM HO WAN - 12:45

48. 
    

49. Peter sits in a small table. A plate of crispy noodles with prawn and abalone sauce sits beside a bowl of congee with pork and preserved egg. Peter eats with pleasure.

50. 
    

51. PETER (V.O.): I mustn't forget to maintain all my Duolingo streaks.

52. 
    

53. He finishes, including his streaks in Korean, French and Spanish. He pays at the cashier. The cashier gives him a small packet of festive packets with the characters "Good Luck" embossed on them.

54. 
    

55. CASHIER: Good luck!

56. 
    

57. PETER: I need it!

58. 
    

59. Exiting, Peter checks a WhatsApp notification.

60. 
    

61. PETER (V.O.): It's from my sister...Spring begins today? Good luck?

62. 
    

63. Peter smiles. He holds the good luck packets he received and takes a photo of them. He sends it to his sister.

64. 
    

65. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Luck has arrived. Same to you, sister!

66. 
    

67. INT. PETER'S NT HOME - 15:00

68. 
    

69. Chaos. Peter enters, eyeing at a Fender Villager 12-string acoustic guitar.

70. 
    

71. PETER (V.O.): The bridge pin. The one that sprang to nowhere. Now is the time.

72. 
    

73. He looks around the room: the cluttered desk, shelves overflowing with parts, tools.

74. 
    

75. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): A needle in a haystack. But it doesn't have to be.

76. 
    

77. Peter doesn't search frantically. He stands still, thinking. His eyes shift to a dusty "IN" tray piled with old letters and papers. Then, he sees a small, plastic bridge pin, cream-coloured.

78. 
    

79. PETER: Ha! A pure, simple luck?

80. 
    

81. Peter holds the pin, inserts it into the guitar bridge. He restrings and tunes the guitar. He then pushes a power button on the left side of the guitar. No light.

82. 
    

83. PETER (V.O.): The battery is dead. I haven't replaced it in over 10 years.

84. 
    

85. MONTAGE

86. 
    

87. A. Peter drives to a nearby mall and buys a 9V battery.

88. 
    

89. B. Peter is back home, slotting the new battery into the guitar's preamp.

90. 
    

91. END MONTAGE

92. 
    

93. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd):  The guitar is whole again.

94. 
    

95. Peter holds a cable, ready to plug into the input jack on the guitar side. His fingers find empty space. He turns the guitar over. There's no input jack. Just an empty hole where it should be.

96. 
    

97.  PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The jack socket was loose. Did I remove it...I completely forgot the worst of it.

98. 
    

99. He slowly puts the cable down. He places the guitar back in its stand. The silence in the room is profound.

100. 
     

101. Act 3

102. 
     

103. INT. LIVING ROOM - 22:15

105. Peter uploads an image featuring a red packet labeled "Good Luck" held in his hand to a draft on his laptop.

106. 
     

107. PETER (V.O.): "Spring begins today" isn't a forecast. It's an invitation to become the luck I hope to find.

108. 
     

109. Thinking.

110. 
     

111. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): On the first day of Spring, I found a bridge pin I lost last week. Some would call it luck. I call it listening to the calendar.

112. 
     

113. Reflecting.

114. 
     

115. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Spring begins today: it means my old frustratons are eligible to be forgotten, and my unfinished tasks, seen with new eyes.

116. 
     

117. The END

118. 
     

119. FADE OUT